The ideal picture of how a leader leaves the field is a matter of opinion. Some may picture him on his teammates’ shoulders or jogging off a field with the championship, wagging an outstretched index finger in the universal sign for No. 1.

No one wants to see a leader carted off, injured and finished for the season.

Yet that heartbreaking scenario played out in front of Penn State fans Saturday, in the Lions’ 45-22 victory against Indiana.

Fifth-year senior linebacker Mike Mauti rode off the field, not on someone’s shoulders, but on a motorized cart.

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Not uplifting, it was no-less fitting. After all, Michael Mauti always seemed to play every down as if it was his last. Full-throttle, and straight ahead; no excuses, no letdown. Even after suffering two severe knee injuries he seemed to put his team first, as if his effort and the potential to risk injury was worth the collective goal of the team.

When he went down in the first quarter, it seemed as if everyone watching wanted to wish this knee injury onto someone else — anybody but Mauti.

Who was down on the ground? No. 47? No. 43? Nope. It was No. 42.

And as silence enveloped Beaver Stadium, the reason for the hush was simple. Mauti has already missed almost two entire seasons at Penn State because of knee injuries. And after a tumultuous offseason, in which he pleaded “one man” didn’t build this program, and one man – “sure as hell” — wouldn’t tear it apart. Mauti emerged as a straight-talking, unapologetic leader on and off the field. Even people who didn’t follow Penn State or college football asked about the big, stringy-haired kid who stood up in front of the cameras.

“The same kind of Mauti you see (interacting) with the media is the same kind of Mauti you see in the locker room,” Penn State’s Stephen Obeng-Agyapong said. “He’s a leader. He speaks his mind.”

Mauti had already survived a difficult four seasons at Penn State before the 2012 season started. A torn ACL in his right knee wiped out his entire 2009 season, and a torn ACL in his left knee wiped out all but the first four games of last season. Despite all of that, and the NCAA sanctions imposed in August, it looked like he would finally reach the NFL Draft whole.

But his season — and collegiate career — ended after Indiana running back D’Angelo Roberts laid his helmet into Mauti’s left knee – the one with a large, bulky brace. Pictures appeared to confirm it was an illegal chop block, since Mauti had engaged with Indiana lineman Collin Rahrig when Roberts hit Mauti low; a textbook high/low block combination. Officials didn’t throw a flag.

“The things he’s been through — with both of his knees — he just doesn’t want that to happen again,” said Penn State’s Jordan Hill, who stayed with Mauti while the Lions’ medical staff examined him on the field. “It was like a moment of shock, of like here we go again.”

Unable to walk off the field, he hopped onto the cart, his hands up at his helmet. Fans responded with a standing ovation and every Penn State player walked onto the field as he rode off.

“He’s not only one of my teammates, he’s one of my close friends,” Hill said. “The whole senior class, we consider ourselves brothers because of everything we’ve been through. It’s a unique situation. You’ve got to be there for each other.”

If that was his final play, and no one seemed willing or able to comment on his injury after the game, Mauti left like a hero. Asked if anyone else on the team would have received that type of reaction from his teammates, Hill explained.

“You know he’s our leader,” Hill said. “We knew we had to be there for him.”

Since he’s a senior, it was likely Mauti’s last play as a Nittany Lion. Should Penn State and Mauti pursue it, the linebacker may wish to petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility. The NCAA permits athletes a sixth-year of eligibility if they lose two seasons because of circumstances outside an institution’s control (i.e. injuries or death of a family member).

Although Mauti has not missed two entire seasons (he played in four games in 2011), there appears some precedent for players receiving a sixth season despite appearing in some games in one of those lost seasons. Maryland’s Richard Taylor received a sixth year after he missed all of 2007 and most of 2008 (appearing in three games) with knee injuries.

But that will be a question Mauti and his family need to answer. Will he be better off trying to come back to Penn State before entering the draft? And would he want to return for another season? He already earned his first undergraduate degree in Dec. 2011 and has started work on his second degree in labor and employment relations.

Back on the field for the end of the game, Mauti sat on the sidelines in warmups and no pads, his left leg propped up on a table. On crutches, he joined his teammates’ to sing Penn State’s alma mater. Coaches often say it’s easy to spot a leader. In this case, everyone in the stands spotted one.

Before the Blue Band played the first notes of the alma mater, the student section began to chant: “Mich-ael Mau-ti!”*

It might not have been an ideal end, but it seemed fitting. Here was a player that put the team in front of himself, and here was a student body recognizing that effort.